The Rural Voice, 1993-12, Page 30It all
began at
Christmas
Dave and Judie
Glen built a sweet
business after just
trying to find some
money for
Christmas presents
By Keith Roulston
you might say it's only fitting
that supplying the Christmas
market should be a big part of
the year's business for Glen Farms
Herbs and Preserves Inc. The whole
company, after all, began as a way to
earn a few dollars for Christmas gifts.
Judie Glen recalls that fall back in
1984 when she was a student at the
University of Guelph and, with
husband Dave, was struggling to
make ends meet. "I had been crying
the blues because I couldn't buy
books and pay for Christmas
presents," he remembers. She made
some homemade "goodies" to give as
gifts and a friend suggested she
should try selling her products at the
local farmcrs' market. "I got Dave to
Xerox some tags and off I went."
"She made $25 and I immediately
jumped on board," recalls Dave. "We
were ecstatic. That amount of money
literally doubled the entertainment
budget."
The couple has come a long way
since then. Today the jams and jellies
and hcrb vinegars find their way to
the shelves of quality shops across
southern Ontario and as far away as
the Northwest Territories.
Not that their home near Ethel in
northern Huron county (between
Brussels and Listowel) resembles
Kraft Foods. Their "plant" is their
farm house kitchen, measuring about
12 by 20 feet, which also serves as
26 THE RURAL VOICE
office, and centre of the family's
activities. While we talk in the
nearby living room, two neighbours
work at the kitchen table putting
labels on jars to be packed for
shipment around the province. Still,
from this less -than -ideal facility, they
shipped 6000 pounds of their product
in the pre -Christmas period last year
and this year has been far
outstripping last.
Producing a quality product is a
key to growth, of course. The couple
uses turn -of -the -century recipes from
cookbooks handed down from
relatives. All their jams and jellies
are cooked in small batches using
only stainless steel pots.
But a quality product is just the
start and both Dave and Judie realize
that marketing is an important part of
their success. Take those days back at
the Guelph Farmers' Market, for
instance. Back then the only herb
vinegars in Canada were imported
from France and were pretty murky
products by the time they arrived in
Canada. Few people knew what to do
with an herb vinegar. The Glens
created a market by putting little
recipe books with each bottle to let
people know how to use it. They also
created a nice looking product by
having a whole branch of the herb in
each clear bottle. They started out
using beer bottles: "We always aimed
at the high brow market, so we would
only drink imported beer," Dave
says. Later they had to make the first
big move to order bottles especially
for the product but the minimum
order was 4500 bottles, a scary step
because it represented 10 years of
production for them at the time.
Making the big step, however,
they began looking for
ways to spur sales. They
packaged gift packs of four different
vinegars together with a recipe book.
Dave is a former award winning
salesman with an electronics chain
and Judie is also good at sales. They
admit their background helps in
visiting potential clients but neither
of them likes selling. "I'd rather
spend a day writing a brochure than
make a sales call," Dave says.
Judie says when she started
making her goods for Christmas
presents, "I'd die if somebody said
they didn't like my stuff." Sales, she
says in encouraging others to look at
the possibilities of starting their own
small companies, is scary but it isn't
difficult. She dreads going to a big
food show (they now participate in
such huge events as the Canadian
Fine Foods Show and the CNE Gifts
Show) but once she has talked to the
fust few people she gains confidence.
"I get a real rush out of trade shows
now."
Still the couple breaks all the rules
others would say are important. This